Renter evicted for not checking on landlord's crying kid, so he sued

A BC renter sued his landlord, who was also his roommate, after being evicted for not locking a door and not attending to the landlord’s crying child.

The case made its way to the BC Civil Resolution Tribunal, where Sean Chambers, the renter, claimed over $2,000 for expenses related to moving costs, the security deposit, and additional rent costs.

Chambers signed a 10-month fixed-term agreement between September 2022 and June 2023 and was evicted mid-September without notice.

In response to his claim, Jennifer Derco said that she was entitled to evict him because he endangered her child and household. Derco filed a counterclaim of $5,000 for eight months’ lost rent.

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Chambers submitted a copy of the tenancy agreement to the tribunal; nothing unusual existed in the contract.

He agreed to pay Derco $900 a month, including a $450 damage deposit.

According to the agreement, Derco could only evict or end the tenancy if it were mutually agreed upon or by anything permitted by the Residential Tenancy Act.

The agreement includes additional terms like quiet time between 9 pm and 9 am.

Soon after Chambers moved in in September, the relationship broke down for some reason.

On September 7, Derco asked Chambers to find a new place to live ASAP. On September 8, Derco told Chambers that their last message was a “polite eviction notice.”

She added that his eviction was “effective immediately based on the safety of my family.”

Chambers moved out on September 15, just two weeks into the agreement. He told the tribunal that Derco breached the agreement by evicting him without proper notice, while again, Derco claims he endangered her child, entitling her to evict.

The primary issue took place on September 3.

Derco’s child cried in the hallway when someone was undisputedly heard outside the home. Derco claims that Chambers failed to lock the door overnight and then failed to comfort her child. During this time, Derco was at home, asleep in her room.

Derco couldn’t prove that Chambers didn’t lock the door.

Chambers said he did hear Derco’s child crying in the hallway downstairs, but he decided not to check on the child because he was new to the house and assumed Derco wouldn’t want a stranger attending to their kid in the night while she was asleep.

The tribunal accepted that explanation.

Further details in the tribunal decision show other concerns that the landlord had, including the fact that the renter consumed one or two alcoholic drinks a night and that he parked his motorcycle in the driveway. The rental agreement didn’t restrict any alcohol consumption.

While some of his claims were dismissed due to lack of evidence, Chambers won his case and was awarded $1,613.07, including damages for breach of contract and the rest in tribunal fees.